Police pursuit on I-255 results in arrests

Two suspects in an attempted Millstadt break-in were taken into custody early Monday following a police pursuit that ended on I-255 near the Jefferson Barracks Bridge.

The incident occurred about 1:20 a.m., as a woman on Jotham Court in Millstadt reported to police that a man had broken some glass on a back door in an apparent attempt to enter her home. Lt. Alan Hucke of the Millstadt Police Department told the Republic-Times that the woman had called 911 to report an unknown man ringing her doorbell. She then heard the glass breaking on her door while still on the phone with the dispatcher.

A responding Millstadt police officer observed a Cadillac Escalade driving away from the scene and gave chase north on Route 163. The officer terminated the chase, Hucke said, when speeds were deemed unsafe. Dupo, Cahokia, Columbia and St. Louis County police were called to assist in the pursuit.

A Columbia officer successfully deployed stop sticks on westbound I-255, resulting in three tires on the Escalade being deflated. Two occupants attempted to flee on foot from the stalled vehicle, but a Cahokia K-9 dog caught and bit one of them while an officer apprehended the other. Both suspects, a man and a woman, were taken into custody sometime after 2 a.m. They remain in custody at the St. Clair County Jail with charges pending.

The Escalade involved in this case was reported stolen out of St. Louis County, Hucke added.

“(The homeowner) did an excellent job in calling 911 and providing a good description of the vehicle,” Hucke said, adding “Our officer was in the right place at the right time.”

On Tuesday, St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly’s office charged the driver of the vehicle, Steven T. Sutherland, 34, of St. Louis, with attempted residential burglary, aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude police, and criminal damage to property. Sutherland’s passenger, Savana R. Anderson, 31, of St. Louis, was charged by the Cahokia Police Department with resisting a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer, and unlawful striking a police animal. She also had warrants out for her arrest out of St. Louis City and St. Louis County.

Hucke said there is no indication the victim knew the suspects, and the incident appeared to be a random act.

Republic-Times

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